ARIC THOMPSON
Duain Richmond will star in the concert version of the musical “Fela!” at Newark Symphony Hall, Oct. 22.
Fela Kuti proved to be larger than life. Not only did the groundbreaking Nigerian musician and political activist survive beatings and imprisonment, but even after his 1997 death, his music and message has continued to be an inspiration for social justice warriors across Africa.
To this day the music he created, Afrobeat, is played by bands around the world. It was also the focus of the musical “Fela!,” which ran on Broadway from 2009 to 2012, and won three Tonys. Now a recreation of his music, titled “Fela! The Concert,” is on tour, and coming to Newark Symphony Hall, Oct. 22.
Duain Richmond performs as Fela.
Duain Richmond portrayed Fela in the theatrical show and is taking on the role again, fronting an 18-member troupe. Though the concert does not tell Fela’s story like the play did, Richmond again channels Fela’s charisma and helps place the music in its time and place.
“Once I step into that blue suit, it’s a very spiritual moment for me,” he says. “I transform, and when that band starts to play … you never know what you’re gonna get, but it’s gonna be good.”
Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì was born in 1938 to a mother who was a well-known social activist, which was particularly rare for a Nigerian woman at that time. As a teen, Fela went to school in Great Britain and began playing jazz. He moved back to a newly independent Nigeria and began to cobble together regional music with international sounds. In a 1969 trip to the United States, he was inspired by the Black Power movement of the time and his music turned sharply political.
In Lagos, Fela created the Kalukata Republic, a compound for followers and a recording studio that he declared independent from Nigeria. He also regularly played at a local club called the Afrika Shrine. His barbed political songs infuriated government leaders and they ordered numerous raids on his compound and the Shrine, and had him arrested dozens of times, but Fela continued to grow more popular. In one massive raid, his mother was fatally injured after being thrown from a window.
Fela began to write songs that essentially narrated in real time his struggles with the authorities. His famous song “Zombie” was about the behavior of the soldiers who attacked him and other Nigerians.
His invented genre, Afrobeat, sprang forth as sprawling, hypnotic grooves, with interlocking percussion propelling blasts of tightly arranged brass, with songs lasting 20 minutes or more. The music was an amalgam of funk, jazz, Nigerian highlife, Yoruban chants and Afro-Cuban rhythms.
The cover of the 1999 anthology, “The Best Best of Fela Kuti.”
In 1997, Fela died of complications of AIDS and his son Seun took over his Egypt 80 band. Recently Fela was the subject of an award-winning 12-part podcast, “Fear No Man,” that included tributes from Barack Obama, Paul McCartney, David Byrne and Questlove, among others. Earlier this year he was given a Lifetime Achievement Grammy.
“This man feared no one at a time when you can say the wrong thing about the Nigerian government and it possibly can cost you your life,” Richmond says. “And you know, they tried to kill him many times, but couldn’t. This man was not only speaking up against the injustice of his people, but he was also calling the corrupters out by their name … I was inspired by how one man could bring so much change and affect an entire country through his music.”
Richmond was born in Sierra Leone and came to America as a child, but, he says, “I had no idea who Fela was.” He was introduced to Fela’s music when a cousin was cast as the lead in the show.
Richmond’s cousin said he should take the role one day, but it took him three tries to get there. After his second audition, director-choreographer Bill T. Jones said he was “too young,” but Richmond says he now understands that Jones meant he didn’t fully understand the kind of man that Fela was.
“I had to take a dive deep and I became more so a fan of his music, a lover of his story,” Richmond says. “When my third audition came around, I was ready.”
Richmond says that while the concert does not have the narrative of the play, he does talk as Fela to the audience between songs to give them context. “We don’t do the monologues, but I engage with the audience. It’s very immersive.”
He says he is sometimes asked what audiences should expect from this hybrid theatrical concert. “I always say, ‘Expect to sweat.’ You know, because Fela’s music is the type of music that you can’t sit still when you hear it.
“It’s going to be a magical night. I’m more excited for the people that have no idea what they’re stepping into. I’m more excited for those people than the fans because their life will forever change. Just understanding the story and knowing the man and the music, it does something to you. I’m excited to step on that stage and revisit that world again. As we say, ‘Welcome to the Shrine.’ ”
Newark Symphony Hall will present “Fela! The Concert,” Oct. 22 at 7 p.m. Visit newarksymphonyhall.org.
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